Throughout its history, the banking sector has undergone moments of transformation that have marked new directions in the way it relates to its customers, and right now, in the midst of a pandemic, we are facing the consolidation of the most recent: Banking as a Service BaaS).
BaaS is a service model that makes available to consumers digital financial tools created by banks themselves or in conjunction with fintech companies, organizations that find technological innovation their main bastion.
Banking institutions have a license that allows them to operate all kinds of regulated financial services (accounts, credits, insurance, leases, investments in the stock market, etc.), something that fintech companies cannot carry out. So the synergy works as follows: banks open their APIs (interfaces that allow them to connect to their systems) to fintechs and startups, which enables them to offer these services or leverage the technological infrastructure that makes them possible.
The result of all this are cutting-edge financial digital experiences that seek to offer personalized services, easy to use and with an excellent user experience.
To buy chewing gum or to avoid fraud
This innovative drive in technology applied to the financial system has been going on for some years with high levels of growth and great progress around the world.
In the case of our country, the fintech ecosystem has been unstoppable since 2016. "With 18% of net growth, Mexico is consolidated as an indisputable leader for financial innovation in Latin America with 394 start-ups," reported the company of KPMG consulting when presenting, at the beginning of this year, the results of its “Fintech 100” report.
Payments and loans are the main segments of interest among companies in this industry, but the services that this disruptive technology has brought to banking go much further.
The BaaS financial services platforms that have formed the banks that operate in our country include multiple digital solutions, including: savings and investment, online banking for individuals and companies, mobile banking, currency and remittance management, the aforementioned digital payments ( point of sale terminals, payments between people and payment of services, for example) and insurance.
Some banking institutions have even gone one step further by creating online API stores designed for companies seeking specialized services: digital tools for the management and control of leasing and / or factoring assets, management of reward programs, payroll control or services to validate the identity of users and reduce risks of fraud or identity theft.
Banks that point to the future
The "Digital Banking Report in Mexico 2020" reveals that 82% of Mexican banks have developed at least one mobile banking tool for their clients, but that only 44% of them have a specialized online banking tool for business clients. and that only 33% of Mexican banks have at least one independent tool to save and / or invest digitally.
This means that while some institutions are even exploring new models of 100% digital banking, others have not taken full advantage of the digital channels of the fintech revolution.
"In this context, financial institutions that have made innovation a pillar of their strategy have the advantage, since they are better prepared to put digital tools in place that can offer faster, more efficient and cohesive financial services in the new reality", said report concludes.
The most innovative banks understand this perfectly so they make the most of artificial intelligence to deliver a more humanized digital experience. In other words, taking traditional customers by the hand into a safe and friendly digital environment - that's BaaS, the new era of financial services.